Hope, That foul deceitful thing Has no part in it.In the EastThe serenity of Lord BuddhaA mystic’s elixir, A pagan riteGods of multitudeOr the all-powerful prevailed.

In today’s long silenceUtterances, understatements, broken speech; To the point of saying nothing.The long silence is a long shadowBottomless, fearlessLike “The graveyard poetry”Still and numb.For a past and a future, for the present.

Poet's Notes about The Poem

Long Silence - Dundee, South Africa @ The Daily Postcard

“The only message on this mysterious card is Long silence? ? ? The view is of Victoria Street in Dundee, South Africa, a town named by Scottish settler, Peter Smith, after his home town. Peter found coal close to the surface on his farm and started selling it while continuing to farm. Dundee later became a major coal-mining area. The first battle of the Boer War was also fought nearby. The building on the right appears to be the Jan Johnson Masonic Hotel. In the foreground, we see a man pulling a rickshaw, a common form of transportation in South Africa at the turn of the century. Another man appears to be carrying a bicycle on his back.”